


Call of the Dragon

by VenTheWriter



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Akatsuki no Yona AU, Hurt, Multi, Mystery Character(s), not much comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:58:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5002087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenTheWriter/pseuds/VenTheWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Prince Kuroko’s life is destroyed, with the help of his body guard he must gather the legendary Dragon Warriors in order to return his kingdom to it’s former glory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call of the Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> If you've stumbled in here and haven't read/watched Akatsuki no Yona I highly encourage you to do so. It is an excellent show.  
> If you haven't seen it, I hope I made it comprehensible enough to follow without it? Honestly, I tend to lose a bit of what's common knowledge and what isn't with these things sometimes x.x

No matter how many times he said it, no matter how many times he told Kuroko that it wasn’t his fault and that that scum would get what was coming to him, no matter how many times he tried to get Kuroko to just look at him or the deer run in front of him or anything, the haunting blank look of betrayal remained. It only fueled his rage, but between navigating back to the Wind Tribe and making sure Kuroko didn’t go wandering off a slope there was no way for him to express any of it. It just kept bottling up-- memories of the three of them as kids, the time he convinced them both that he could fly, the first time they lost Kuroko, the time they’d decked Kuroko out in one hundred bells while he was sleeping, that goddamn grin Kuroko would get whenever the King Kuroko told them that he was coming to visit, the look on that asshole’s face when he pointed a fucking sword at his best friend _how could he do that to him. To them._  
  
Kagami was sure that his teeth were shaved down to stumps from all of the grinding. Now he wasn’t just Kuroko’s body guard. He made sure that he ate, that he bathed, that he slept, that he kept moving forward. He was his heart beat while the other’s was broken.  
  
He estimated that they were only a day or two out from the Wind Tribe by this point, where he knew they would be safe for at least a little while. Kuroko was still as unresponsive as when they’d left the castle, but he was hoping that his mentor would be able to help in some way. Kagami seethed to himself, poking the fire before them much harder than necessary. A log tipped causing sparks to snap up into the air, including one falling onto Kuroko’s hand. He didn’t even look down. He just slowly lifted his other hand to brush it off.  
  
“Damn it, Kuroko,” Kagami hissed, lurching over to inspect for a burn. Thankfully there was none. “Be more careful,” he added, as if it was his fault.  
  
Kuroko just turned his head away. Kagami’s fist clenched. He was going to kill that asshole, no doubt about it.  
  
“Bed time,” he grumbled. Kuroko just slumped a little more against the tree. His eyes were still open but Kagami was sure that he wasn’t seeing anything.  
  
“You’ve gotta close your eyes to sleep, dummy.” His voice was softer this time, with only hints of his irate tone gleaning through. Kuroko complied though. Kagami spread the fire, letting the flames go out and the coals to cool in the night air. He himself didn’t sleep. There’d be plenty of time for that when they got home. Instead he drummed his fingers on the staff of his spear, keeping an ear out for Kuroko’s breathing to even out and trying some of the breathing techniques he’d been taught to help soothe his anger. They weren’t as effective as he’d hoped, but they helped a little. Memories from that night a few days ago still swirled in his mind and refused to die down.  
  
\----  
  
The evening of Kuroko’s birthday was quiet. Kagami thought that it was a little strange, because the nobles usually partied pretty late during celebrations and sixteen was a pretty big milestone for a prince. After all, now Kuroko’s marriage was becoming more and more important. Which also meant that Kagami’d have to keep a closer eye on that brat to stop anyone from getting too advantageous. Kuroko joked that he would never be wed because no one would be able to handle Kagami shoving his way into their relationship. He’d seen a couple of people eying the prince at the party, but there was a safe twenty foot bubble he’d been able to create just from glares alone. He mentioned to some of the inner palace guards to keep an eye on the prince’s rooms just incase anyone tried any funny business while he did a perimeter check.  
  
Usually there were no worries about problems. King Kuroko was non-confrontational, including a no-weapons policy within the capital. Only the palace guards were allowed to carry weapons within, so there wasn’t a fear of an attack. Kagami always thought it was strange that King Kuroko didn’t believe in conflict, yet wanted his son to have an armed body guard and wanted the palace guards to still be trained in combat. After all, why did Kagami get titles like General of the Wind Tribe and combat nicknames like Thunder Beast if they weren’t ever going to mean anything. The King would just chuckle and pat him on the arm when he brought it up, telling him that he’d learn when he was older. Kagami didn’t really get it because he loved the rush of combat and the feeling of being able to protect the people he cared about. Even if he spent most of his time keeping Prince Kuroko from getting locked out of his quarters by his servant. He had to say, though, that he didn’t mind the peace. It was great when people didn’t have to die. Usually it was fine.  
  
Except for tonight, when something just didn’t feel right. The Kingdom of Teiko under King Kuroko’s reign had always been peaceful. Friction between the four tribes under his reign had grown, as well as political pressure from surrounding countries, but there were no wars between the kingdoms since. Palace life was simple, if not a bit boring to be honest. About as boring as the patrol. Although he had to admit, for a boring patrol he was currently much more on edge than he should have been. He didn’t like the feeling.  
  
He rounded the corner, spotting the prince’s servant trying to balance a pile of linens that stacked over his head as he mumbled encouraging words to himself under his breath. Just as the pile was about to totter too far to the left (accompanied by a panicked chant of “ _Nonononono_ ”) Kagami jumped in and nudged the pile back with the flat blade of his spear.  
  
“Why’re you trying to carry all of this at once, Furihata?” Kagami asked. “You probably should’ve made two trips.”  
  
Furihata sighed and dropped the basket on the ground.  
  
“The sooner I get it done the sooner I can go home,” he said, wiping his forehead with the back of his sleeve. “Servants are being let off early tonight, but I’ve still got a pile of stuff to do. Most of them are already gone.”  
  
Furihata looked mournfully in the direction of the exit, but something about what he had said didn’t sit right with Kagami.  
  
“The servants are all gone?” He asked.  
  
“Yup,” Furihata nodded. “They want the inner living quarters cleared out so the prince could get an undisturbed sleep.”  
  
“What about the guards?”  
  
Furihata froze, one hand on his hip and the other on his forehead. Kagami’s hurried tone must have thrown him off. The wide eyed stare that he was giving Kagami made him want to vomit.  
  
“I-I don’t remember seeing any when I grabbed Kuroko-ouji’s things. There might have been-”  
  
Kagami was gone, fear fueling his limbs and making his feet feel lighter than air. He tore across the compound towards the royal chambers, knocking through other guards on their patrol without regard to their well being or the sideways looks they gave each other. He was overreacting, he told himself. Everything was fine. King Kuroko was just being generous to the staff for his son’s birthday and they were both completely safe. He would probably round this corner and see the guards slouching at the entrance to the grounds, go barging through them as they laughed at his concern to Kuroko’s room and startle him from some damn book and then get made fun of for the next two weeks for it. His senses were just off for once, that’s all.  
  
When he did round the corner, there were certainly guards. They were far from slouching. Swords drawn, they braced themselves for his attack. Something in him roared, the fear igniting his bones and bleeding into the desire to fight and destroy. It only took one sweep of his spear to knock them away. He used the momentum to pivot, slam the butt of his spear to the cobbles, and force his weight onto it to slam both feet into the heavy wooden door. It crumbled under the balls of his feet and he continued to move on in a continuous motion. He ignored the surprised shouts of other intruders and just kept going. He wasn’t that far from Kuroko’s chambers.  
  
He went skidding to a halt just at the edge of the inner courtyard. His mind went numb from what he saw. He felt like he was floating-- no, it was more like he was in free fall, the way he lost feeling in his body except for the painful burst that pushed at the juncture of his throat. Sprawled on the ground, nightclothes covered in dirt and blood, crossed swords over the back of his neck and arms, was the prince. Around him stood a loose ring of men in uniform, none of whom Kagami recognized. Except for one, who wore fine clothes instead of a uniform with the tip of his sword pricking into Kuroko’s bared throat and made Kagami’s knees want to give out beneath him.  
  
Kagami _roared_. A single bound got him next to Kuroko, a single swing slicing through the frozen guards pinning him down and knocking the others nearby back. His vision was blurred, but he could sense everything in perfect clarity. The only thing he could actually see was his childhood friend before him, the tip of his sword stained with the blood of their other childhood friend and prince, his face set in a dark frown the likes that Kagami had never seen distort his face.  
  
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kagami growled. His friend’s face hardened.  
  
“What you think it looks like, Kagami,” he said, arm and wrist tipping up to hold his sword at the ready. “Treason is a simple concept to grasp.”  
  
“That’s not what I mean,” Kagami glowered. He heard a shuffle of armour to his left. A quick twist of his spear made it stop. He could hear Kuroko mumbling something but couldn’t pick up on the words.  
  
He did not falter. Only gave Kagami that familiar look he would when right before he would tell him he was being thick. Kagami gnashed his teeth.  
  
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said. Only now did Kagami notice the blood staining his friend’s face. “This is all necessary. If you walk away I will spare you. You can remain as the General of the Wind Tribe and lead from the palace like you always have.”  
  
Something else was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Kagami’s lips parted, jaw still clenched, ready to launch himself across the courtyard, but a fragile touch at his pant leg stopped him.  
  
“Kagami-kun.” He could finally make out Kuroko’s words, thought they were hoarse and throaty. “Kagami-kun. Please… Please, don’t leave me too.”  
  
The fog in his head cleared, just a little. He exhaled, deep and long.  
  
“Don’t worry, idiot,” he said. He reached a hand back to ruffle Kuroko’s hair. He pretended like he couldn’t feel the dirt or the wet of blood. “I promised your dad I’d keep you safe.”  
  
Someone standing behind his traitorous friend, another new face with a shaved head, huffed and rolled his eyes.  
  
“No use following the orders of a dead man,” he scoffed. “Don’t throw your life away by sticking to it. You’re better off following your new king.”  
  
The words made Kagami’s blood run cold. He felt the grip at his ankle tighten and heard a muffled sob at his back. New king? That must have meant….  
  
He couldn’t help it. Laughter, straight from the belly but dry like a corpse, bubbled out of his mouth. He had to let his spear upright so that he could lean on it before he collapsed. He heard the soldiers shift around him, thrown off by his reaction no doubt.  
  
Good.  
  
It rang across the courtyard without interruption, until it petered out and Kagami was standing with more support from his weapon than his own knees. He liked to think that it was only from laughing, but he knew there was another reason that they wanted to give way.  
  
“New king, eh?” He drawled, sharp eyes jolting up to glower at his friend. The men behind him flinched back half a step. “You sure about that? King Ogiwara doesn’t have the same ring to it.”  
  
Ogiwara shifted into a more comfortable stance. “I’m sure the people will get used to it.”  
  
Kagami’s grip tightened and he rushed forward with a yell, delivering a blow that Ogiwara redirected to the side. Kagami continued his onslaught, not allowing Ogiwara the chance to get in any striked of his own. His arms thrummed with the rush of anger and fear and adrenaline, fueling his strikes to the point where he could practically feel his friend’s arms tremble under the force. It was nothing like how they sparred as kids. Kagami always held back, even when faced with complaints about it. Ogiwara might have had some technical skill, but they both knew that he was no match against Kagami’s strength. Although he must have picked up some new tricks since he was here last, Kagami noticed, for he was fighting in attack patterns he’d never used before.  
  
“How could you do it?” Kagami grunted without letting up on his strikes. “How could you murder someone so kind that he couldn’t stand weapons.”  
  
“A kind leader is a weak leader,” Ogiwara shot back, paired with swift strike Kagami blocked with his pole. “Softness breeds weakness. A king must be strong in order to protect his people.”  
  
“Murder isn’t strength,” Kagami hissed, knocking Ogiwara back with a heavy blow. “And neither is betrayal.”  
  
A brutal slice to the shoulder that made the beast in Kagami’s chest gloat forced Ogiwara to disengage, the darkness of his face giving way to heavy panting and a scrunch between his brows. But all Kagami could see was the blood seeping from his shoulder. He felt something akin to a grin break out across his face, along with curls of fogged breath seep between his teeth into the open air.  
  
The man behind his friend must have tried to enter the fray, for Ogiwara flung out a hand and said, “No Tsugawa, stay back. There is a reason he gained the title Thunder Beast. Do not get in range of that spear.”  
  
Kagami scoffed and was about to leap back into battle but was stopped by a whimper behind him. The beast in his chest bristled at the sight of some soldier with Kuroko pulled up against him, a blade pressed to his throat. His hands ached and his arms itched to swing firmly at the soldier’s neck, but a simple shift of his foot had the guard pull the sword tighter. A thin line appeared at Kuroko’s throat.  
  
“Drop your weapon, Thunder Beast!” Tsugawa cried. The spear immediately clattered at his feet. His looked into Kuroko’s eyes, and would have spun and locked his fingers around Ogiwara’s neck if he could have looked away.  
  
Kuroko was always pretty expressionless. Kagami had gotten good at figuring him out over the years, but sometimes he could still use that blank face to fool him. This was different. This wasn’t familiar blankness, but emptiness. His eyes were glossed over, face smooth of anything that might have show he was afraid or in pain. They certainly had eye contact, but Kagami wasn’t sure if Kuroko was even seeing him. If he hadn’t heard Kuroko speak before he would have thought that the guard was holding up a corpse in mockery.  
  
“Kuroko…” Kagami grit his teeth and whirled around. He hadn’t noticed the guards surround him, but he did notice them jump back as he moved despite the fact that their weapons were pointed as him and he was unarmed.  
  
There were so many things he wanted to say. Words jumbled in his head, fogging it as if he were in battle. Words were harder than action. They weren’t his thing, but now they were what he wanted the most. His fists tightened so hard his fingers ached, and it took about all of the restraint he could muster not to just pummel his friend to death. Instead, all he could do was look Ogiwara in the eye and ask, “Why?”  
  
He’d given reasons. Stupid, worthless reasons to why he’d killed the King-- the man that had helped raise them, encouraged them to learn and play dumb games and to protect each other. Power and strength and greed didn’t explain how he could just throw this all away. He didn’t want to know why Ogiwara killed the king. He wanted to know why he killed their family. He wanted to know how he could try and kill the most important person in their lives while wearing some damned cold face.  
  
That Tsugawa went on about how Kagami couldn’t know what Ogiwara had seen and gone through his entire life, but he didn’t bother listening. He just stared at his friend as he came closer, looking for the warmth and laughter that coloured his entire being throughout their childhood. All he found was ice and something that looked tired and aged.  
  
“I don’t even know you anymore,” Kagami breathed.  
  
Ogiwara’s lips pursed. He raised his sword, inches from Kagami’s forehead.“You never did.”  
  
An arrow shot between them, startling the entire crowd and forcing Ogiwara back. A second arrow hissed out, nearly striking the soldier holding Kuroko captive. He shouted and jumped away. It was all Kagami needed to kick up the spear at his feet, knock away the scrambling soldiers around him, and in a leap over Kuroko, plunge the blade of his spear into the soldier’s head. He grabbed Kuroko under his arm like a sack of potatoes and ran, slicing at anyone who stood in his way. The beast in his chest wailed in protest, wanting to return and tear Ogiwara apart. Kagami wanted to give in, but instead took the pent up desire out on the soldiers in his path. He had to prioritize. First he had to make sure Kuroko was safe. Then he could deal with Ogiwara. He still wanted to know, but the desire to destroy was starting to fester.  
  
“Oi Kagami!”  
  
He glanced up from the soldier he cut down to see Furihata peeking out from one of the servant alleyways between the buildings, gesturing him over.  
  
“This way, hurry!”  
  
He went to hand off the prince, who had been nothing but dead weight under his arm, but hesitated. He examined Furihata hard for a moment, who gulped but firmly grabbed Kuroko by the shoulder to hold him up. Kagami huffed. He didn’t have a choice but to trust.  
  
“Those shitty arrow shots were yours, weren’t they?” He said instead. Furihata shrugged.  
  
“At least it worked. There’s more coming, hurry up.”  
  
They managed to lose the few guards that Kagami didn’t cut down, hiding out in some of the garden’s foliage. Kuroko was propped up against a tree while Kagami peered through the branches. He could hear the tromping of soldiers as they ran past, but none of them were smart enough to check their hiding spot.  
  
“Is it true?” Furihata asked quietly. “Is the king really dead?”  
  
Kagami glanced over his shoulder. The question wasn’t directed to him, but to Kuroko. There was no response at first, just blank eyes tilted to the ground, but eventually his chin dropped in what must have been some form of a nod. Kagami’s grip tightened on his spear.  
  
“I see,” Furihata murmured. He reached a hand out, unsure of what to really do with it. He settled for brushing his fingertips over the back of Kuroko’s hand. “I’m sorry, Kuroko-ouji.”  
  
“We need to get out of here,” Kagami cut in immediately. They could do this later. They’d have some time when they were safe. “If they catch us we’re dead, but it’s only a matter of time…”  
  
He wracked his brain, going over the layout of the castle in his head. He pinpointed two exits that were closest. One was the east entrance, which was out of the question because it would certainly be swarming with enemies. The other was a service exit used by the staff. He tried to plot a course that would get them there, but he couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t be heavily patrolled at sections. He ran a hand over his face, coming up with scenario after scenario. He was a good fighter, but he couldn’t protect all of them and take an entire army head on on his own.  
  
“I have an idea,” Furihata said. His voice trembled, as if he knew what he had to do and was ready to do it, but didn’t sound excited to do it.. He pulled a silk blanket out from the bush. It was beautifully embroidered with snowcapped purple mountains and dancing white swirls of the breeze -- a birthday gift Kagami’s guardian had sent for Kuroko from the Wind Tribe.  
  
“I’ll hide under this and draw their attention,” he said. “Hopefully they’re in too much of a panic to think properly and believe it’s Kuroko-ouji. It should get you enough time to get out of here.”  
  
There was no discussion of a meeting point. No question of how he was going to get out of the castle. They both knew what Furihata’s plan meant.  
  
“You’re sure?” Kagami asked. Furihata nodded, his knees trembling. Unsure of what else he could do, Kagami ruffled his hair. He wanted to smash this idiot’s face into the ground and tell him to not be stupid, but he wasn’t getting Kuroko out any other way. There were just too many enemies for him to locate and avoid while having the prince thrown over his shoulder. If they had more time they could figure something out, but there just wasn’t. He needed to get Kuroko out of there as fast as he could. Something in his chest clawed uselessly at his ribs, urging him to tear through every enemy in the palace anyway or tear his fingers through the ground or just destroy something to make this all go away.  
  
“Do you best,” he grumbled, the words sounding heavily in his throat. He could do nothing but watch Furihata, with his shaking hands and watery eyes, throw the blanket over his head and race off. Kagami remembered how when Furihata was first hired he managed to accidentally dye the table cloths pink. When Kuroko got sick he hovered like a mother hen, and the two of them they stayed up all night by his side until Kuroko was better. Just that morning he went to check on how his cleaning was coming along only to find that Furihata had gotten himself stuck up on a wardrobe in an attempt to flee ‘the biggest spider in the entire kingdom Kagami I swear this thing was the size of an apple.’  
  
A knot coiled in Kagami’s stomach that only fueled the heat that energized every inch of his being. He ducked back down behind the bush, waiting for the shouts and drumming of feet on the ground to pass before hauling Kuroko over his shoulder and making a cautious beeline for the servant’s exit of the palace. He blocked out any sound, just in case any sounds from the chase were close by. He didn’t want to hear it.  
  
\----  
  
A loud snap jerked him from his memories. He watched the cacophony of sparks dance up into the sky from a log he’d forgotten to spread. He hoped that by trying to count them he could get rid of the lump in his throat that threatened to rise and the itch in his fingers that threatened to grasp at the tree branches around them and snap as many as he could. Counting helped a little. So did clenching his fists so hard that he could feel blood curl between his fingers. He didn’t have time for this weakness, he reminded himself. He glanced down at Kuroko, who looked just as lifeless while sleeping as he did when he was awake. No, he had too much to plan for the future to be getting lost in the past.


End file.
